Ball joint lubricator



July 4, 1933. J. c sHREEvE BALL JOINT LUBRICATOR Filed March 17, 1952 Patented July 4, 1.933 f UNITED STATES PATENT orf-lcs 1 .101m yc. srmnnvn, or JoLrE'r, ILLnroIs BALL JOINT Lunnrca'ron Application mea umh rz, 1982. serial No. 599,409.

i' This invention relates to joints for rendering flexible, fluid conduits such for instance,

as the conduit through which steam is sup-` -plied toa booster of a locomotive. In such 5 joints it is necessary to establish the conditions of universal `flexibility together with secure packing against leakage of live steam under pressure. These conditionsare ordinarily realized by introducing a hollow spherical member, called the ,ball, having connection with one member of the conduit, into a shell, having connection lwith the other member ofthe conduit and confining it there. v and packing it against escapev of steam by means which, while' reventing axial displacement, are `intendldd to leave rthe joint "freeto yield to forces applied in directions perpendicular to the axisfof the conduit,but

' illy serve their purpose owing to the binding 2 -of the retaining andpacking means against the spherical surface. The object of the invention is to provide an eective and durable means whereby the ball surfaces which move relatively to the .h2-5 locking and packing elements, may be kept lubricated, notwithstanding heavy impingement of the locking and packing elements 4vthereagainst.

In ballY 'oints of the kind described, it is usual to employ a pair of Aspaced bearingv rings embracl small circles of the spherical member-of the joint; one of said rin s being.;

' Vseated in the shell and the'other being supported by an adjustable bearing ringflange' 35 which tends to force nsaid rin s together and thereby lock the `ball against isplacement-in the direction of its axis; and to pack this joint against the'escape ofthe iluid medium flowing through. the conduit o f which the ball 40 and shell form a art, packing rings are lo'- cated in the space etween said bearing rings But in this arrangement as heretoforel e'jv signed, angular movement of the ball mem.

ber of the conduit auses the bearing rings and the packing-.rings to wipe the surface vof the ball so severely that it is impracticable to sulliciently lubricate the Barts and breakage frequently results from igh Hexing resistance opposed to shocks which, inthe presence vof proper lubrication would be absorbed by better the flexing function of the joint. Attempts have been made to deliver lubricant into the space between the bearing rings, but owing to insufficient distribution these attempts have usually been unsuccessful.

The present' inventlon meets the problem4 above outlined byemploying two packing In the accompanying drawing, in which the preferred embodiment of the invention i shown by way of'illustration- Figure 1' is an axial sectional view of a ball joint embodying the subject-matter of the 75 present invention.

Figure 2 is a detail view of the lubricating rixg employed in Figure' 1; and

' igure 3 shows, on a greatly enlarged scale,- a radial section of the packing ring shown 80. in Figures 1 and 2. 1 represents the shell of the 'oi'nt adapted 4 to stand in communication wit one portion 2 of a conduit, for instance, the conduit which supplies steam to the booster on a locomotive; and 3 is the ball confined within said shell and 'standing in communication with the portion 4 of the said conduit so that said conduit portions 2 and 4when the ball 3 is properly mountedwithin theshell, are relatively mov- 110,

able in directions at an angle vto the longitudinal axis of the conduit.

To confine ball 3 within shell 1, anl upper or fixed bearing ring 5 is stepped within the shell in position -to embrace one minor cir- 95.

4cumference of the ball 3 4and a lower or.v adjustable lring 6 is supported by bearing ring flange 7 in position to embrace a minor c ircumference of said ball that is axially re mote from the "ring 5, so 'that when bearing 100y ring ange-' is adjusted axially, for instance, through the medium of the usual Harige bolts 8, only one of which is shown, the ball will be firmly locked against axial displacement but not confined against angular movement relatively to shell 1. In order to pack the outer surface of ball 3 a ainst the escape of fluid flowing through t e conduit, for instance, steam, packing rings 9, 9o are located in the space between the bearing rings 5 and 6, these packing rings being preferably of so-called V-construction with an insert of packing material which better suits them for their purpose; and these packing rings, usually two in number, even when directly bearing one against the other are on opposite sides of a great circle of the ball and have their ball-impinging surfaces specially designed so that they may be forcibly set up against the packed spherical' surface by means of the adjustable ackingy Hange 10 likewise held in position y bolts such as 11, of which one only is visible in a s ection such as shown in Figure 1. Pressure applied to lower bearing ring 6 by ange 7 is transmitted in part through shoulder 12 on the packing flange to the packing rings 9, 9a.

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As thus far described, the device is of known construction and frequently suHers deterioration by high resistance to flexure when the locking and packing elements are put under sufficient' pressure to prevent the escape of steam, owing to the fact that sumcient lubricant cannot be maintained between the spherical surface of ball 3 and the elements, 6,9 and 9a. The present invention remedies this disadvantage by spreading apart the packing rings 9, 9a and introducv j ing between them a lubricating ring 13,

which is advantageously made of brass or other alloy, and this lubricating ring serves the function of definitelyspacing apart packing rings 9, 9a under any pressure that can be appliedl to them and maintaining a lubricant reservoir in the form of an inner channel 14 presented toward the'spherical surface of the ball, which channel extends preferably entirely around the rin so as to insure complete distribution of lu ricant to the ball; and to better supply said reservoir 14 and insure such distributlon, the lubricating Loraovo ring is provided with a series of radial ducts 15 leading from a provisional reservoir 1n.

the form of an external groove 16, into which lubricating medium may be introduced voluntarily at appropriate intervals by applying lubricant supply under pressure at the charging port 17. By this arrangement, the rings, which by their severe wiping action under pressure necessary to proper checking of the escape of steam formerly kept the joint so dry as to cause breakage by resistance to flexure under4 service shocks, serve, in connection with the spaced packing rings, as a means for regulating the escape of lubricant stored in the reservoir between the packing rings; the lubricating ring, by its provisional supply chamber, causes equal distribution of lubricant to all of the impinging surfaces; and resistance to flexure of the joint is so far reduced that breakage is eliminated. Moreover, the lubricating ring, be-

ing of rigid permanent form, serves to justii under the severe pressure o the bearing rings, and the packing remains tight for a longer period.

What is claimed is:

1n a ball joint for conduits, the combination of a shell adapted to communicate with one conduit member, a ball adapted to communicate with another conduit member, a built up column of packing occupying the space between said ball and said shell and comprising substantially rigid packing rings each having a spherical sur ace engaging the correspondmg surface on opposite sides of a great circle of the ball, a substantially rigid lubricating ring located between and in contact with the packing rings, and engagin a great circle of the ball and an adjustaple packing flange adapted to ap ly pressure to said column of packing with t e pressure distributed equally throughout substantially the width of the column; whereby a leak proof lit is maintained between the s herical -surfaces on the packing rings an the ball on opposite sides of the lubricating ring.

Signed at Joliet, Illinois, this 12th day of March, 1932. JHN C., SHREEVE.

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